2024
Meriläinen, Mikko; Ruotsalainen, Maria
Online Disinhibition, Normative Hostility, and Banal Toxicity: Young People’s Negative Online Gaming Conduct Journal Article
In: Social Media + Society, vol. 10, iss. 3, 2024, ISSN: 2056-3051.
Abstract | Links | Tags: Game culture, Online disinhibition, Online gaming, Toxicity, Young people
@article{Meriläinen2024c,
title = {Online Disinhibition, Normative Hostility, and Banal Toxicity: Young People’s Negative Online Gaming Conduct},
author = {Mikko Meriläinen and Maria Ruotsalainen},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051241274669
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/20563051241274669},
doi = {10.1177/20563051241274669},
issn = {2056-3051},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-09-11},
urldate = {2024-09-11},
journal = {Social Media + Society},
volume = {10},
issue = {3},
abstract = {In this study, we examine young people’s self-reported negative (“toxic”) online gaming conduct via a qualitative survey (N = 95) of active game players aged 15–25 in Finland. Drawing from young people’s lived experiences, we present negative gaming conduct as a complex whole, stemming from a combination of online disinhibition, affective intensity, game cultural conduct norms, and individual preferences. We explore online gaming environments as spaces with different technological and communicative affordances. In this study, we demonstrate how not all negative gaming conduct is equal in intent or outcome and introduce the concept of banal toxicity: outwardly hostile but routine conduct that lacks emotional intensity and serves little strategic purpose yet is conducive to an overall social landscape of negativity.},
keywords = {Game culture, Online disinhibition, Online gaming, Toxicity, Young people},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
In this study, we examine young people’s self-reported negative (“toxic”) online gaming conduct via a qualitative survey (N = 95) of active game players aged 15–25 in Finland. Drawing from young people’s lived experiences, we present negative gaming conduct as a complex whole, stemming from a combination of online disinhibition, affective intensity, game cultural conduct norms, and individual preferences. We explore online gaming environments as spaces with different technological and communicative affordances. In this study, we demonstrate how not all negative gaming conduct is equal in intent or outcome and introduce the concept of banal toxicity: outwardly hostile but routine conduct that lacks emotional intensity and serves little strategic purpose yet is conducive to an overall social landscape of negativity.
2023
Ruotsalainen, Maria; Meriläinen, Mikko
Young Video Game Players’ Self-identified Toxic Gaming Behaviour: An Interview Study Journal Article
In: Eludamos: Journal for Computer Game Culture, vol. 14, iss. 1, pp. 147–173, 2023.
Abstract | Links | Tags: Affect, Affordance, Toxic behaviour, Video gaming, Young people
@article{Ruotsalainen2023,
title = {Young Video Game Players’ Self-identified Toxic Gaming Behaviour: An Interview Study},
author = {Maria Ruotsalainen and Mikko Meriläinen},
url = {https://doi.org/10.7557/23.7270
https://eludamos.org/index.php/eludamos/article/view/7270 },
doi = {10.7557/23.7270},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-12-14},
urldate = {2023-12-14},
journal = {Eludamos: Journal for Computer Game Culture},
volume = {14},
issue = {1},
pages = {147–173},
abstract = {In this study we analyze negative behaviour in the context of digital gaming through interviews of players (N=12) aged 16–27 who self-reported as having behaved in a manner they acknowledged as toxic. Through thematic analysis of the interviews, we highlight three central themes: Games as affective spaces; affordances and norms facilitating negative behaviours; and players’ navigation of negative behaviours. Our study demonstrates the situational and affective nature of negative behaviour and offers solutions for reducing it in gaming.},
keywords = {Affect, Affordance, Toxic behaviour, Video gaming, Young people},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
In this study we analyze negative behaviour in the context of digital gaming through interviews of players (N=12) aged 16–27 who self-reported as having behaved in a manner they acknowledged as toxic. Through thematic analysis of the interviews, we highlight three central themes: Games as affective spaces; affordances and norms facilitating negative behaviours; and players’ navigation of negative behaviours. Our study demonstrates the situational and affective nature of negative behaviour and offers solutions for reducing it in gaming.
Meriläinen, Mikko; Ruotsalainen, Maria
The Light, the Dark, and Everything Else: Making Sense of Young People's Digital Gaming Journal Article
In: Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 14, 2023.
Abstract | Links | Tags: Digital gaming, Digital gaming relationship, Everyday life, Social worlds, Thematic analysis, Transmedia, Young people
@article{Meriläinen2023b,
title = {The Light, the Dark, and Everything Else: Making Sense of Young People's Digital Gaming},
author = {Mikko Meriläinen and Maria Ruotsalainen },
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1164992
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1164992/full},
doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1164992},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-06-12},
urldate = {2023-06-12},
journal = {Frontiers in Psychology},
volume = {14},
abstract = {Whether gaming has a beneficial or detrimental effect on young people's lives is a defining feature in both the research and the public discussion of youth digital gaming. In this qualitative study, we draw from a thematic analysis of the experiences of 180 game players in Finland, aged 15–25 years. Utilizing the digital gaming relationship (DGR) theory, we explore how different aspects of gaming actualize in their lives, and how different features of gaming culture participation come together to form their experience. We contend that framing gaming as a balancing act between beneficial and detrimental obscures much of the complexity of young people's gaming, reinforces a partially false dichotomy, and overlooks young people's agency. Based on our results, we suggest alternative approaches that help reduce and avoid these problems.},
keywords = {Digital gaming, Digital gaming relationship, Everyday life, Social worlds, Thematic analysis, Transmedia, Young people},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Whether gaming has a beneficial or detrimental effect on young people's lives is a defining feature in both the research and the public discussion of youth digital gaming. In this qualitative study, we draw from a thematic analysis of the experiences of 180 game players in Finland, aged 15–25 years. Utilizing the digital gaming relationship (DGR) theory, we explore how different aspects of gaming actualize in their lives, and how different features of gaming culture participation come together to form their experience. We contend that framing gaming as a balancing act between beneficial and detrimental obscures much of the complexity of young people's gaming, reinforces a partially false dichotomy, and overlooks young people's agency. Based on our results, we suggest alternative approaches that help reduce and avoid these problems.